Judge to MarkWest: Cecil Board Did Not 'Commit an Abuse of Discretion' in Compressor Station Denial

A Washington County Judge has explained the denial of an appeal by MarkWest regarding a Cecil Township Zoning Board decision to deny a request to build a compressor station off state Route 980.

The order, signed by Washington County Judge John DiSalle, was dated July 30 and said the board did not "commit an abuse of discretion."

DiSalle wrote:

"In denying the special exception the zoning hearing board clearly found that MarkWest had failed to meet the burden of proof that the proposed use it of the same general character of permitted uses within the (zoning district) and that the impact of the proposed use would be equal to or less than that of other permitted uses. For the court to attempt to read more info the zoning hearing board's finding that MarkWest failed to meet its burden, as appellant suggests, would be inappropriate and beyond the scope of the lower court's decision."

The judge also said that the zoning hearing board's decision was not exclusionary, and it did not pre-empt the Oil and Gas Act, as suggested by MarkWest in court documents.

Cecil Township's Zoning Hearing Board held three days of public hearings regarding MarkWest's proposed compressor station to be located on Coleman Road off state Route 980.

The facility, which was more than 1,000 feet away from any occupied structures, would be situated on 71.5 acres of land and include eight internal combustion engines and five to eight condensate and salt water tanks.

The structure itself would have been 35 feet in height.

The compressor station would have operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week and would have emitted 19.5 tons of volatile organic compounds per year, about 36 tons of nitrous oxides and about 14 tons of carbon monoxide, according to court documents.

Both Cecil Township and Southpointe-based Marcellus Shale drilling company Range Resources intervened in the case.

In the ruling, DiSalle made mention of court action by Range Resources to have him recuse himself from a Marcellus Shale case because of what it said was a conflict of interest.

DiSalle said it was "nothing more than a bald attempt at forum shopping."

The Commonwealth Court, to which MarkWest has appealed the decision, may now set a briefing schedule and date for oral argument.

However, if the state Supreme Court overturns a Commonwealth Court ruling that pre-emption of local zoning control is unconstitutional, a compressor station such as the one MarkWest wants to build would be considered a permitted use.

MarkWest spokesman Robert McHale could not immediately be reached for comment Monday morning. 

Range Resources spokesman Matt Pitzarella did not immediately return a message to his cell phone seeking comment.